According to CDC, Nearly Two-Year Drop in Life Expectancy Driven by COVID

COVID-19 shaved nearly two years off the lives of American adults, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revealed on Wednesday.

Life expectancy in the United States is now at 77 years old — a 1.8-year decrease from 2019, according to a report, based on the National Center for Health Statistics’ data on 2020 death rates.

It was the largest single-year drop in more than 75 years.

Nine out of the 10 leading causes of death last year remained consistent with 2019, with COVID-19 bumping suicide from the list in 2020. The disease ranked third, with heart disease and cancer again claiming the top two spots.

Since the pandemic began, the U.S. has recorded more than 51 million COVID-19 cases and almost 810,000 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.